By the oak Tree
by dan4eva
Summary: Let's see how Harry handles his confrontation with Ginny in Bill and Fleur's Wedding


**A/N:** Okay I know I've just posted this story recently but during that short amount of time, I've had some really great reviews from three people. So I'd like to re-post this story so as to thank those wonderful who reviewed my story. It really motivates me to write more... so here's the story again...

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of his companions, that is until i get a really GOOD lawyer. But until then, JKR still owns then... To bad...

During the reception, Harry kept brooding on the fact that the time the prophecy had foretold was fast approaching. The fear of seeing these happy faces dancing to the melodious tune, suddenly vanish in a blink of an eye. There was Lupin dancing merrily with Tonks in her usual bubblegum pink hair. His two best friends were dancing intimately on one corner of the dance floor while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were having a candid chat with their new in-laws. On the centre of the dance floor, were the guest of honour, the newly weds, Bill and Fleur. Harry noticed that most of the men were gawking at Fleur as she gave Bill a tight embrace and a quick kiss on the lips before continuing with their dance; both of them so happy, feeling content in each other's arms.

_How_, thought Harry. How can all these people still be able to feel this happy when somewhere out there, someone was being tortured or worse, killed? Could they not feel the darkness that has slowly crept into their lives?

Harry stole another quick glance at the corner where a beautiful red headed girl was seated. She was the reason why he was so reluctant to leave. Though he'd told her that they should live their own separate lives, deep down he was furious with himself. He felt as if his heart was being torn into a thousand bits and pieces every time he thought of her. The soothing feeling he felt every time he ran his fingers through her fiery hair. Her flowery scent, her warm touch, the passionate look in her eyes that always threatened to drown him. Oh…Ginny Weasley…

_No, _he screamed in his head, taking his eyes off her. He had to forget about her, no matter how painful it was. He had to protect her.

He was about to stand up and leave when he felt a familiar hand grasp his.

"Was it just me, or has someone been keeping an eye on me all day?"

Harry turned to see the hard blazing look in Ginny's eyes and was suddenly engulfed in her scent.

"So Mr. Potter, do you know who's been keeping an eye on me?" she said in a hope to sound cheerful. Harry tried to open his mouth to tell her how badly he missed her. How she filled his entire being. How he wanted to be with her without having to look back. To tell her that he'd never leave her alone again. But all he was able to do was to push her hands away from his.

Ginny looked shocked at what he did. They stared at each other, Ginny looking hurt. Harry could not bear to look into her eyes when all he could see was pain; he dropped his gaze, his head bowed down in shame. He heard sobbing and the scurrying of feet. He looked up in time to see Ginny running towards the Burrow.

Harry sank back down in his chair, disgusted with himself. Feeling as if his heart had been nailed down.

Harry continued to sit in his corner by the shadows, his head in his hands. It was already very late and all of the guest had left. Mrs. Weasley had approached him earlier asking him to turn in for the night. After ensuring her that he was not yet tired, he got up and headed towards the great oak tree near the lake.

As the tree loomed into view, he felt the cool night air brush against his pale face. The sweet scent of the evening dew tingling his senses. He wished the nights ahead would be as peaceful as tonight's, no screams of pain or bloodshed. Walking closer to the tree, he noticed a lone figure slouched near its base. Thinking it was probably one of the drunken guests, he turned to leave. But then he heard the faintest of sobs. He squinted to see who was crying. His eyesight not at their best; he walked to the tree to investigate, his wand raised. He walked slowly to the direction the figure, trying his best to keep his presence undetected. He took another cautious step when his foot landed on top of an empty Firewhiskey bottle. Finding it hard to maintain his balance, he fell on all fours. Struggling to get up again, he saw that the perimeter of the tree was littered with empty bottles. He quickly got to his feet and was finally able to recognize the slouched figure.

At that precise moment the figure stirred. Harry's heart raced, he turned to leave the scene he had accidentally stumbled upon. But somehow, a force that was just recently known to him, kept his feet rooted firmly on the ground. He stared at the figure, even when she was drunk she still looked stunning; the moonlight radiating from all around her, her red hair; moving freely in the night air (how he longed to get his hand through those again), her petite body framed by a gorgeous white dress accentuating her curves.

Half of him wanted to leave at once but his other half wanted to stand by her side.

_You have to let her go!_

_For Pete's sake, you still love her!_

_She'll get hurt if I stay with her!_

_Like she isn't hurting now!_

_She'll be in more danger if I stay with her!_

_Then stay with her and protect her!_

He gave his head a quick shake and slowly trudged towards her. As he drew nearer, he could feel her slow and warm breath. He sat beside her and allowed her head to drop down on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she started stirring, her eyes slowly fluttering open. At that moment their eyes met, at first her eyes were cold and hurt then it gradually changed to warmth. A grin broke on Ginny's mouth.

"Hey there handsome…" she whispered in his ear.

He smiled at her for the first time in a long while.

Ginny moved in closer to him, resting her head on his chest. She could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart. She felt so secure wrapped up in his arms again. How she hoped he would come to his senses and see that this was where they belonged, together. Ginny looked up, wanting to see those beautiful, starling green eyes that had always made her weak in the knees. But she was met with a very sadden look.

"What's wrong Harry?" she asked, turning to face him.

Harry looked at her then ran his fingers through her hair. He then placed his hand on her face, caressing it. Ginny felt the familiar touch of his hand on her fair skin and closed her eyes, taking in the woody and husky scent that was Harry.

"You are so beautiful Ginny" he said softly.

At this, Ginny stood up and reached out for his hand.

"Harry. Will you dance with me?"

"What! Ginny…no…please…I'd like to talk to you first." mumbled Harry, trying to pull her back down.

"Come on Harry. I know you wanted to dance with me earlier. Come on…" said Ginny, tugging at his arm.

"Whoa…"

"Ginny! Are you okay?" asked Harry, standing up so as to catch her.

"My head feels kind of heavy" she said groggily.

"Well…you shouldn't have drunk all the Firewhiskey in the party." he said teasingly, stroking her hair.

"Hey! It was your fault!" she protested, pushing Harry away but falling on top of him in the process.

Harry panted as Ginny lost her balance and fell on top of him. The look in her eyes was so intense and passionate. Ginny slowly started moving towards him. Still keeping eye contact, Harry moved his hands up to her arms, slowly moving them up to her body. He could feel the softness of her fair skin. Ginny moaned softly in his ears. Harry moves his hands all the way to the buttons of her dress and starts unbuttoning them. He pushes her and soon he was on top of her. Ginny was making all sorts of sound that Harry was sure she had never made before. Ginny places her hands on the back of his head; pulling and tugging at his shirt. Harry leans forward and connects his mouth to hers. He could feel the strong taste of Firewhiskey on her lips. Ginny tugs at him even more, urging him to go deeper.

Harry pulls away from her lips and starts moving towards the nape of her neck. Ginny moans even louder and tugs at Harry's hair. Harry, finally succeeding in unbuttoning her dress, pushes his hand up through her dress. He slowly moves his hands to her belly, tickling her in the process, making her shout. His hands continue exploring upwards until he gropes a breast cup. He squeezes in curiosity; Ginny tugging even more tightly at Harry's shirt.

Then as if a light bulb had been switched on his brain, Harry came to see the inappropriate manner he had just been doing.

"No Ginny. We can't." he exclaimed, pushing himself off her..

"I'm sorry…" she cried, scrambling to get on her feet and moving to the other side of the tree.

Harry stared after her, his thoughts were in a whirl. After sometime he heard her crying.

"Ginny –" he started, walking to her side of the tree.

"No… it's alright Harry…" she muttered. The air was filled with unsaid words.

Harry sat beside her leaving a considerable space between them.

"Harry… I'm fine…you can leave if you want…." she said, not looking at him.

"Gin…" he said, slowly moving closer.

"It's alright Harry" she said more firmly.

Harry held her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. He felt her tense up.

"Ginny… please let me talk…" Ginny remained silent, prompting him to continue. "Gin… we can't …."

"Then why…tell me…why! Why did you come here? You were so keen on ignoring me earlier." she snapped

"Ginny…please…listen to me…"

"What else have you got to say that you already haven't?" Her eyes were now streaming with tears. "What else do you want to tell me?! Isn't breaking my heart enough for the famous Harry Potter?"

Harry flinched at the harshness of her tone.

"No Ginny." he said, turning away from her. "I only meant to keep you safe."

"Keep me safe from whom?! Voldemort?" screamed Ginny, pulling all her guts into saying the name.

"YES!" he shouted, rising to his feet, yet amazed that Ginny had said the name without a flinch. "Yes, I bloody want to protect you from him. I don't want you getting hurt anymore. I don't want him to use you again"

Harry's outbreak caused Ginny to fall silent again, staring avidly at the young man she deeply loves.

"Ginny I care for you too much! I'm terrified at the thought of losing you." he concluded, fighting hard to stop the tears that were now burning in his emerald eyes.

Ginny finally got her bearings and said, "Did it ever occur to you that by breaking up with me, you were only hurting me more."

"Ginny I swear I never meant to hurt you. I'd kill myself if I ever did." he said.

Turning to look at her again he saw that she had stop crying but her eyes were all puffy and red. But it still could not hide the hurt he'd caused. He stared at her gorgeous

chocolate eyes before finally sitting down and taking her hand.

"I've been stupid Ginny; utterly stupid…..Lupin was right."

Ginny just stared at him, confused.

"Lupin and the others have been telling me that trying to act noble will do nothing to protect you. Turning away from the ones I care about will not save them. For weeks I've been trying to convince myself that what I'm doing is right and they're wrong. But when I saw you tonight, did I only realize how stupid and blinded I've been. Not until tonight, did I see that pushing you away has only made us both weak and vulnerable. I am doing exactly what Voldemort wants me to do. But I will not fall for it any more.

"Ginny..…" he started, running his hand down her face. "I should keep you close in order to protect you. No matter how far apart we are danger would always lurk around us. You would always be in danger because of our connection. We would never have peace of mind, not knowing how the other is doing. Whether I'm safe or you're safe. We can never rest in not knowing. This will only make us more prone to Voldemort's relentless attacks. Like what they all say, my heart speaks louder than my brain. Anyone can figure out who I care for. Keeping you close is the only way I can protect you."

After a long month of waiting, she finally heard the words she so desperately needed to hear. She hiccoughed loudly, causing her to jump. All she could do was stare at him, unaware of the tears that have once again flowed out, revealing her freckles that Harry so adored.

"Oh Ginny…" he muttered, smiling on how she was now hiccoughing continuously and using his thumb to wipe away her tears. "You mean the world to me. You found me when no one else could. I was incomplete without you by my side. There was a gapping hole in my heart that no matter how hard I tried to forget, I could never forget. I was torn apart when I broke up with you. It was as if someone tore off my arms and limbs, I was useless. I was lost within myself and could not find my way out. You complete me Ginny. I need you to find me again. You make me the way I am." he pulled her closer. "I love you Ginny."

Ginny was now crying uncontrollably "Oh Harry…"

Harry leaned in closer slowly giving each of her freckles a peck before finally lowering his lips, giving her a long, deep and passionate kiss. The warmth in her lips was undeniable.

Ginny felt the energy that was emitting from the both of them. She placed her hands upon his shoulders and felt the lean muscles that he had acquired after hours of training. Harry then placed his hands on her head, tilting it to the side. Ginny consented and slowly opened her mouth wider, allowing the kiss to go deeper. She then kissed him back with all the energy she could muster. She was completely loss in him.

When breathing became essential, they reluctantly broke apart.

"Oh Harry… you are such a jerk, you know that!" she cried in his shoulder.

Harry pulled her off him and looked at her. He was bewildered when she saw that she was laughing.

"What?!" he asked.

"I hate you!" she laughed, hitting his shoulders. "I hate you for what you put me through. I hate you! Do you know how long I've waited to finally hear you come to your senses? I hate you Potter."

She was in hysteria; Harry grabbed her hands to stop her from pounding him. "Do you even have the stomach to hate me like that Ms. Weasley?"

She was breathing heavily then said, "No, Mr. Potter. I love you too much."

And with that they shared yet another passionate kiss.

"Will you accept your stupid boyfriend back?" he asked uncertainly, playing with her hair. They were sitting underneath the tree, Ginny resting on his leg.

"If you give me the dance I've bee wanting, perhaps I'll consider." she said frivolously, standing up and running away from him.

"What! Wait… Ginny." said Harry, flabbergasted running after her.

"Come on Harry. I know you want to."

"Missy, I thought you were drunk." he said finally catching up to her.

"I've sobered up." she said cheerfully. "Come on Mr. Potter, sweep me off my feet." flinging herself in his arms.

Harry was amazed at her pluck and flicked his wand. The night air was suddenly filled with the same, sweet melodious tune in the wedding. "My pleasure Ms. Weasley." he said, bowing down and kissing her hand.

"Oo…Harry. You do have a way with me." said Ginny swaying and humming to the beat of the music.

Harry watched as Ginny hummed and danced about around him. She looked like an angel dancing by the moonlight. He couldn't help but smile seeing how happy she was. He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Ginny…we were supposed to dance – together." he pouted jokingly.

Ginny laughed at how childish his expression was.

"So Ms. Weasley, what's your verdict?" asked Harry after minutes of blissful dancing. Harry was amazed on how light his feet seemed when he danced with her.

"Well…" said Ginny, playing with a lock in her hair.

Harry stared hard at her, waiting for an answer.

"Of course Harry. You'll always be here." she said, pointing to her heart and staring at him longingly.

Harry's eyes beamed; his green eyes reflecting nothing but happiness.

"I love you Harry." said Ginny strongly, kissing him fiercely and passionately.

The monster in Harry's stomach was purring with content.

The next morning, Mrs. Weasley awoke to find both Harry and Ginny missing. Immediately fearing for the worst, she summoned everyone in the house to look for them. It took them a whole hour to find the couple lying underneath a great oak tree, snuggled up in each others arms, fast asleep.

THE END

**A/N: **Thank you so much for those you reviewed my story.


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